Four strategies for women to overcome obstacles in career development

Tactics for women to overcome obstacles in career development and shatter the glass ceiling  
by Luciana Paulise

Originally written for ASQ Quality Progress Magazine – Read the full article here.

Women always have faced unique career development challenges, and COVID-19 has only exacerbated the situation. Luciana Paulise offers four strategies for women to overcome these obstacles: form or participate in minority networks and support groups; identify fears that hold them back; find a mentor, sponsor or executive coach; and play to their own strengths. Organizations have responsibilities, too, to support their employees, especially during the COVID-19 crisis, and create a diverse and psychologically safe work environment.

When growing their careers, women have always had to overcome unique challenges compared to men, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics occupations or other male-dominated jobs. (1) The COVID-19 crisis has only exacerbated problems many women face in the workplace. Since the pandemic began, more women have reported that the working environment has become even more negative, challenging and hostile. (2-3) How can women identify and address these obstacles to advance in their careers? What can organizations do to break down these barriers?

5 main obstacles women face in career growth

Statistics are unequivocal on the gender gap that corporate America is facing. A recent study conducted by McKinsey and LeanIn.org (4) shows that for every 100 men promoted to manager before the pandemic started, only 85 women were promoted. And this gap was even larger for some women: Women held just 38% of manager positions, while men held 62%. The pandemic only intensified the challenges women were already facing in the workplace, such as:

1. Gender bias: More women than men juggle a “double shift”—a full day of work followed by hours spent caring for children and household labor proved by decades of research as per the McKinsey report. Mothers also face persistent bias in the workplace. There’s also a false perception that mothers are less committed than fathers and women without children. When mothers take advantage of flexible work options, for example, that perception is strengthened, even if they are just as productive as other employees. 
2. Racial bias: Black women and Latinas also face more barriers to advancement than most other employees. For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 58 Black women and 71 Latinas were promoted. Latina mothers are 1.6 times more likely than white mothers to be responsible for all childcare and housework, and Black mothers are twice as likely. (5)
3. Higher performance standards: Women are often held to higher performance standards than men, and they may be more likely to take the blame for failure, especially during times of crisis.
4. Peer pressure: The pressure of being the only woman in a group of men can be overwhelming: Senior-level women are nearly twice as likely as women overall to be “onlys”—the only or one of the only women in the room at work. They are more likely to feel pressure to work more and experience microaggressions or harsh comments regarding their appearance, hair or clothing, or even their competence.
5. Lack of support and sponsorship: Women are less likely to say that their manager advocates for new opportunities for them, especially if there aren’t other women to support them if they are “the only ones” on a team of men. Women also tend to have fewer interactions with senior leaders. In the end, they end up not getting the network or the sponsorship they need to advance.

How to address cultural change

Most, if not all, of the challenges women face are rooted in corporate culture. Actually, it’s not only corporate culture but in American culture overall. There’s at least one hopeful sign of progress, fortunately: Kamala Harris became the first Black, South Asian and female elected the office of U.S. vice president.

But corporate culture must change. Amy Edmondson, a Harvard University researcher, explained how context support, team coaching and culture shape team outcomes, so organizations must focus on these three elements to enable change: (6)

• Culture: While there have been signs of progress in women representing the C-suite in recent years, culture—or the common behaviors and habits that an organization values and respects—must be adjusted, too. In particular, executives must model the behaviors expected in leaders so that real cultural change occurs.
• Team and leadership: Teams and leaders must receive training and coaching to model the culture.
• Context support: (7) Change in team performance is not happening until the context support also is reevaluated and adjusted to reinforce the desired behaviors. This is what I call the 7Rs: reason, rules, roles and responsibilities, routines, rewards and results, risk-taking approach and decision-making strategy, and repetition (the way people learn). See Figure 1.

Recent survey findings

Late last year, ASQ organized its first Women in Quality Symposium, an online event that featured keynote speakers and panel discussions addressing a variety of issues that affect women in the workplace today. I volunteered as moderator and panelist—along with Kathryn K. Leonhardt, Cheryl Thompson and Peggy Milz—for the “Obstacles in Women’s Career Growth” panel discussion. We wanted to provide an avenue for women to discuss obstacles and identify professional and personal development strategies to overcome them.

As part of the discussion, some online surveys captured the sentiments of the 250-plus women who participated. The results from the unpublished survey report were revealing. Nearly everyone (97% of respondents) confirmed they faced obstacles in career growth. The question, “What do you think has been your biggest obstacle in career growth?” also was striking.

While it is usually assumed—again because of the bias mentioned among the challenges—that women’s biggest obstacle was family commitments, the poll showed that only 3% of the women who responded said that family commitment was an obstacle to career growth. Instead, the biggest challenges were corporate culture (45% of respondents), and lack of self-confidence and recognizing their own potential (23%). Other obstacles mentioned were education (3%), skills and experience (3%) or lack of role models (8%).

In addition, the quality field in general was considered a barrier due to the industry’s culture that largely remains male-dominated or male-led. The women surveyed had many years of experience in quality: 28% said they had between 10 to 20 years of experience in quality; 27% said they had between five and 10 years; and 21% said they had more than 20 years. In addition, 42% of respondents said they have spent more than 75% of their career in quality (see Figures 3-4).

The online surveys provided more insights into figuring out what women expect or need to overcome these challenges. The most popular options were being part of a network (67% of respondents), and getting help and advice from a coach (27%).

Strategies to overcome these challenges

Among the best strategies to overcome career growth challenges are empowering women to clear obstacles through building confidence, knowing when to say “no,” recognizing unconscious gender bias in the workplace and cultivating an authentic sense of self. Implementing these strategies is not an easy task and requires changes at the corporate and individual levels. On the individual level, women can work on:

1. Forming and being part of minority networks and support groups (formally or informally). Many organizations are forming equality groups so that like-minded people can openly discuss issues that concern them. Self-employed women on their side can certify their business as women-owned, and receive benefits of being part of a network of women, such as Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (9), the International Association of Women (10) or the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce (11). Women also can form their own small network. When I moved to Beaumont, TX, for example, it was a male-dominated town with barely any Latinas participating in groups or networking events. I teamed with other Latinas business owners, and we founded the SETX Hispanic Women’s Network to help empower women in the area who speak Spanish and want to grow professionally.
2. Identifying fears or barriers that hold them back. From working on gaining self-confidence to building self-organization (that is when team members know what to do by getting information from the environment or the other team members, not through a leader or a hierarchy),  at work and at home, women can achieve a better work-life balance. In many cases, women feel they must be in charge of most of the household chores, or at least that is the tacit agreement they have with their partners. Women must start having the conversation about sharing the burden and working in teams with other family members. The same happens at work: Women tend not to work in teams, sometimes, as to not to look weak. These fears and barriers can be unconscious, so getting a coach or a mentor can help in this matter.
3. Getting a mentor or sponsor within the organization, or an executive coach. A lack of mentors and advisors can stunt your professional growth. A coach can help identify strengths and improvement opportunities, increase self-confidence, and become an accountability partner to move—slowly by steady—in the right direction.
4. Playing to their strengths is key, as is accepting that bias continues to exist. Yes, women continue to face unfair gender biases in the workplace, but that doesn’t have to stop women from trying to grow and helping others grow, too. Women must stick together more than ever. They bring unique perspectives, ideas and experiences to the table. The McKinsey and LeanIn.org research shows that senior-level women have a vast impact on a company’s culture:

“They are more likely than senior-level men to embrace employee-friendly policies and programs and to champion racial and gender diversity. Over 50% of senior-level women say they consistently take a public stand for gender and racial equity at work, compared to roughly 40% of senior-level men. And they’re more likely to mentor and sponsor other women: 38% of senior-level, compared to only 23% of senior-level men.” (12)

What organizations can do

When a female leader leaves one organization for another, it’s not only a concern for the other female employees at the first organization, it’s an issue at the corporate level that must be resolved. Research shows that organizations are 50% more likely to outperform their peers when more women are at the top. (13) Women at the top also can help other women within the organization grow and help bring cultural change and diversity to the table.

Many organizations have taken important steps to support employees, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. They are sharing valuable information with employees, including updates on the business’s financial situation and details about paid leave policies. To aid in overcoming the challenges faced by women in the workplace, organizations should consider the following types of initiatives :

• Leadership training: Leaders of all levels, genders and races need more training and guidance on how to best support women and minorities, deal with unconscious bias, diversity and inclusion, handle difficult conversations, and bring more vulnerability to work. When managers start by opening themselves to their issues and challenges, employees gain more trust in them and feel more comfortable being open.
• Provide one-on-one coaching opportunities. Suppose women cannot get support and sponsorship organically. In that case, organizations can bring in external coaches to help bridge the gap and provide the extra support needed for women to feel empowered to move up the career ladder. Ning Wang, CEO of Offensive Security, a cybersecurity training and certification company based in New York, said in an interview that she hired an executive coach for herself and the executive team “to define what kind of team we want, what kind of norms we want, and the behaviors we want to have.” She added: “We really want to bring that way of working and being to how we interact daily. The coach first worked with the entire executive team and me. Then the next year, she worked with the next level of management, our directors and managers. And the next year, we had her work with the whole company.”(14).
• Provide mental health counseling: Organizations are offering services related to mental health, such as counseling programs, and they are providing tools and resources to help employees work remotely. “Mental health has impacted us in ways we haven’t seen before, the global workforce as a whole is currently dealing with a lot of mental health issues,” said Divya Ghatak, chief people officer at SentinelOne, a cybersecurity startup based in Mountain View, CA. “We brought in mental health experts, offered Yoga, mindfulness, meditation classes, and offered a mental health day off once or twice a quarter. We are still focusing on that.” (15)
• Foster a culture that supports diversity: It’s important to reflect on organizational customs, rituals and norms to ensure they’re inclusive, specifically regarding flexibility and psychological safety. Measuring performance based on results versus how many hours people work is a way to be flexible and loyal to the company goals. “You have to do the extra work to make sure you are accessing a diverse pool, understanding the issues, and how you can get to onboard these people,” Ghatak said. (16)
• Reinforce behavioral change: You can have a diverse team, but that doesn’t mean the members feel psychologically safe to speak up and give their best. You must build a system that supports and promotes the behaviors required to lead a diverse workforce. The real benefits start when new behaviors are learned, and the organization’s culture changes to prioritize respect over peer competition. It is essential to track outcomes for promotions, raises and layoffs by gender continuously. Bias is not easy to remove, so sometimes you may achieve improvements one year, but it goes back to square one next year. In Trailblazer (17), Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, describes how he tried hard to beat bias at his San Francisco-based cloud-based software company, but over time, the gap persisted. In 2016, only 2% of Salesforce’s employees were African American. “Equality is a moving target,” as everyone has unconscious bias, Benioff said. Organizations must acknowledge the imbalance and work continuously to address it.
• Improve transparency: Listen and speak about it. Leaders need to open themselves, listen to employees deeply, learn from them and avoid being defensive to make corrections. Google is working to increase its Black network of counselors. Many organizations encourage employees to join their equality groups or affinity groups that provide a safe space for people to connect around various aspects of their identity where they can have constructive and psychologically safe conversations.
• Increase remote work. When COVID-19 is over, remote work still will be an opportunity for existing employees and women—particularly mothers, caregivers and people with disabilities—to return to work while maintaining work-life balance. Organizations should explore the possibility of offering remote work opportunities as a benefit, or at least provide a hybrid workplace with the option to work from home two to three days a week.

What’s next?

Organizations will need to dedicate more time to reshape the workplace to address these issues and avoid losing more women or minorities. They will have to put systems in place to coach their employees to get through this challenging time and develop a new culture that’s more flexible for everyone and supports in-person and remote workers.

It’s an excellent time to be part of a more fair and flexible work environment in which everyone is valued and respected. In case we, as women, land in any leadership positions, it is also our responsibility to make sure we are fair to everyone else because we know how it feels to be left out.

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